Method and System For A Headset With Profanity Filter

ABSTRACT

A gaming headset receives a plurality of audio channels comprising game audio channels and a chat audio channel during play of a particular game. The gaming headset monitors the received audio channels for predefined words that are associated with particular sounds in a data structure, and in response to detecting predefined words, filters out at least a portion of the detected predefined words from the received plurality of audio channels. The monitoring compares sounds on the received audio channels with the particular sounds in the data structure and also performs signal analysis on the audio channels during game play to detect the occurrence of the predefined words. The filtering mutes one or more of the plurality of audio channels so that the detected occurrence of the one of the predefined words is not output via speakers of the gaming headset.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of priority to United Statesprovisional patent application 61/895,236 titled “Method and System fora Headset with Profanity Filter,” which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/040,144 titled “Gaming Headset withProgrammable Audio” and published as US2012/0014553 is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present application relate to electronic gaming. Morespecifically, to methods and systems for a headset with profanityfilter.

BACKGROUND

Limitations and disadvantages of conventional approaches to audioprocessing for gaming will become apparent to one of skill in the art,through comparison of such approaches with some aspects of the presentmethod and system set forth in the remainder of this disclosure withreference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Methods and systems are provided for a headset with profanity filter,substantially as illustrated by and/or described in connection with atleast one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram that depicts an example gaming console, which maybe utilized to communicate with a gaming headset having a profanityfilter, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1B is a diagram that depicts an example gaming audio subsystemcomprising a headset and an audio basestation, in accordance withvarious exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 1C is a diagram of an exemplary gaming console and an associatednetwork of peripheral devices, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams that depict two views of an exampleembodiment of a gaming headset, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2C is a diagram that depicts a block diagram of the example headsetof FIGS. 2A and 2B, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 3A is a diagram that depicts two views of an example embodiment ofan audio basestation, in accordance with various exemplary embodimentsof the disclosure.

FIG. 3B is a diagram that depicts a block diagram of the audiobasestation, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multi-purpose device, inaccordance with various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary subsystem that maybe utilized for filtering out predefined words during game play, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary steps for filtering outpredefined words during game play, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary steps for generatingaudio alerts in a headset, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 depicts example entries of a data structure used by a headset forprofanity filtering.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments of the disclosure may be found in a method andsystem for a headset with profanity filter. In accordance with variousembodiments of the disclosure, a headset such as a gaming headset mayreceive a plurality of audio channels comprising one or more game audiochannels and a chat audio channel during play of a particular game. Thegaming headset may monitor the received audio channels for predefinedwords that are associated with particular sounds in a data structure,and in response to detecting the predefined words, the gaming headsetmay filter out at least a portion of the detected predefined words fromthe received plurality of audio channels. For the monitoring, the gamingheadset may compare sounds on the received audio channels with theparticular sounds in the data structure, and may also perform signalanalysis on the audio channels during game play in order to detect theoccurrence of the one or more predefined words. For the filtering, thegaming headset may mute one or more of the plurality of audio channelsso that the detected occurrence of the one of the predefined words isnot output via speakers of the gaming headset. The gaming headset maymute the chat audio channel while continuing to output the game audiochannel via the speakers of the gaming headset. For the filtering, thegaming headset may replace the detected occurrence of the predefinedwords with predefined audio so that the detected occurrence of thepredefined words is not output via speakers of the gaming headset. Thegaming headset may determine a number of occurrences of the one or morepredefined words in the received plurality of audio channels during aparticular time period. Upon the determined number of occurrences of thepredefined words during the particular time period rising above athreshold value, the gaming headset may activate a parental alert and/oran audio alert, play a warning message via speakers of the gamingheadset, power down the gaming headset, and/or, communicate an alertfrom the headset to a second screen communication device.

Sometimes during game play, the game audio and/or chat audio associatedwith a playing a game, which may be referred to as game play, maycomprise undesired language or words such as profane language. Thisprofane language or words may be unsuitable for certain classes ofgarners based on, for example, age, maturity, moral preferences,cultural habits and/or religious beliefs. For example, parents may notwant garners that are under a certain age or maturity level to hearundesired words such as profanity. In another example, garners may havereligious and/or moral objections to hearing the undesired words. In theinstant application, profane language may be referred to as profanity.Undesired language or words such as profanity may comprise, for examplea single word, a plurality of words, a phrase, an acronym and/or one ormore syllables. Accordingly, in various exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure, a headset such as a gaming headset may be operable tomonitor audio and filter out undesired words or profanity so that theundesired words comprising profanity are not heard by the garner that islistening to gaming headset during game play.

FIG. 1A is a diagram that depicts an example gaming console, which maybe utilized to communicate with a gaming headset having a profanityfilter, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a console 176, userinterface devices 102, 104, a monitor 108, an audio subsystem 110, and anetwork 106.

The game console 176 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to present a game to, and also enablegame play interaction between, one or more local players and/or one ormore remote players. The game console 176 which may be, for example, aWindows computing device, a Unix computing device, a Linux computingdevice, an Apple OSX computing device, an Apple iOS computing device, anAndroid computing device, a Microsoft Xbox, a Sony Playstation, aNintendo Wii, or the like. The example game console 176 comprises aradio 126, network interface 130, video interface 132, audio interface134, controller hub 150, main system on chip (SoC) 148, memory 162,optical drive 172, and storage device 174. The SoC 148 comprises centralprocessing unit (CPU) 154, graphics processing unit (GPU) 156, audioprocessing unit (APU) 158, cache memory 164, and memory management unit(MMU) 166. The various components of the game console 176 arecommunicatively coupled through various buses/links 112, 138, 140, 142,144, 146, 152, 136, 160, 168, and 170.

The controller hub 150 comprises circuitry that supports one or moredata bus protocols such as High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI),Universal Serial Bus (USB), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment II,III or variants thereof (SATA II, SATA III), embedded multimedia cardinterface (e.MMC), Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe), orthe like. The controller hub 150 may also be referred to as aninput/output (I/O) controller hub. Exemplary controller hubs maycomprise Southbridge, Haswell, Fusion and Sandybridge. The controllerhub 150 may be operable to receive audio and/or video from an externalsource via link 112 (e.g., HDMI), from the optical drive (e.g., Blu-Ray)172 via link 168 (e.g., SATA II, SATA III), and/or from storage 174(e.g., hard drive, FLASH memory, or the like) via link 170 (e.g., SATAII, III and/or e.MMC). Digital audio and/or video is output to the SoC148 via link 136 (e.g., CEA-861-E compliant video and IEC 61937compliant audio). The controller hub 150 exchanges data with the radio126 via link 138 (e.g., USB), with external devices via link 140 (e.g.,USB), with the storage 174 via the link 170, and with the SoC 148 viathe link 152 (e.g., PCIe).

The radio 126 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to communicate in accordance with one or morewireless standards such as the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, theBluetooth family of standards, near field communication (NFC), and/orthe like.

The network interface 130 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate in accordancewith one or more wired standards and to convert between wired standards.For example, the network interface 130 may communicate with the SoC 148via link 142 using a first standard (e.g., PCIe) and may communicatewith the network 106 using a second standard (e.g., gigabit Ethernet).

The video interface 132 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate video inaccordance with one or more wired or wireless video transmissionstandards. For example, the video interface 132 may receive CEA-861-Ecompliant video data via link 144 and encapsulate/format, etc., thevideo data in accordance with an HDMI standard for output to the monitor108 via an HDMI link 120.

The audio interface 134 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate audio inaccordance with one or more wired or wireless audio transmissionstandards. For example, the audio interface 134 may receive CEA-861-Ecompliant audio data via the link 146 and encapsulate/format, etc. thevideo data in accordance with an HDMI standard for output to the audiosubsystem 110 via an HDMI link 122.

The central processing unit (CPU) 154 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to executeinstructions for controlling/coordinating the overall operation of thegame console 176. Such instructions may be part of an operating systemof the device 192 (FIG. 1C) and/or part of one or more softwareapplications running on the device 192 (FIG. 1C).

The graphics processing unit (GPU) 156 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to performgraphics processing functions such as compression, decompression,encoding, decoding, 3D rendering, and/or the like.

The audio processing unit (APU) 158 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to perform audioprocessing functions such as volume/gain control, compression,decompression, encoding, decoding, surround-sound processing, and/or thelike to output single channel or multi-channel (e.g., 2 channels forstereo or 5, 7, or more channels for surround sound) audio signals. TheAPU 158 comprises memory (e.g., volatile and/or non-volatile memory) 159which stores parameter settings to affect processing of audio by the APU158. For example, the parameter settings may include a first audiogain/volume setting that determines, at least in part, a volume of gameaudio output by the console 176 and a second audio gain/volume settingthat determines, at least in part, a volume of chat audio output by theconsole 176. The parameter settings may be modified via a graphical userinterface (GUI) of the console 176 and/or via an application programminginterface (API) provided by the console 176.

The cache memory 164 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may provide high-speed memory functions for use by theCPU 154, GPU 156, and/or APU 158. The cache memory 164 may typicallycomprise DRAM or variants thereof. The memory 162 may compriseadditional memory for use by the CPU 154, GPU 156, and/or APU 158. Thememory 162, typically DRAM, may operate at a slower speed than the cachememory 164 but may also be less expensive than cache memory as well asoperate at a higher speed than the memory of the storage device 174. TheMMU 166 controls accesses by the CPU 154, GPU 156, and/or APU 158 to thememory 162, the cache 164, and/or the storage device 174.

In FIG. 1A, the example game console 176 is communicatively coupled tothe user interface device 102, the user interface device 104, thenetwork 106, the monitor 108, and the audio subsystem 110.

Each of the user interface devices 102 and 104 may comprise, forexample, a game controller, a keyboard, a motion sensor/positiontracker, or the like. The user interface device 102 communicates withthe game console 176 wirelessly via link 114 (e.g., Wi-Fi Direct,Bluetooth, NFC and/or the like). The user interface device 102 may beoperable to communicate with the game console 176 via the wired link 140(e.g., USB or the like).

The network 106 comprises a local area network and/or a wide areanetwork. The game console 176 communicates with the network 106 viawired link 118 (e.g., Gigabit Ethernet).

The monitor 108 may be, for example, a LCD, OLED, or PLASMA screen. Thegame console 176 sends video to the monitor 108 via link 120 (e.g.,HDMI).

The audio subsystem 110 may be, for example, a headset, a combination ofheadset and audio basestation, or a set of speakers and accompanyingaudio processing circuit. The game console 176 sends audio to the audiosubsystem 110 via link(s) 122 (e.g., S/PDIF for digital audio or “lineout” for analog audio). Additional details of an example audio subsystem110 are described below.

In accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure, in instanceswhere the audio subsystem 110 may comprise a headset such as a gamingheadset, the gaming headset may be operable to receive a plurality ofaudio channels comprising game audio channels and a chat audio channel.The game audio channels and the chat audio channel may be received viathe game console 176 during play of a particular game. The gamingheadset may be operable to monitor the game audio channels and the chataudio channel and detect the presence of predefined words. Thepredefined words may be associated with particular sounds, which may bestored, for example, in a data structure in a memory device. Wheneverthe gaming headset detects the predefined words, the gaming headset maybe operable to filter out the predefined words so that they are notoutput from the speakers of the gaming headset. For example, the gamingheadset may be operable to detect profanity and filter out the detectedprofanity so that the profanity is not output from the speakers of thegaming headset and therefore not heard by the person wearing the gamingheadset.

FIG. 1B is a diagram that depicts an example gaming audio subsystemcomprising a headset and an audio basestation, in accordance withvarious exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1B,there is shown a console 176, a headset 200 and an audio basestation301. The headset 200 communicates with the basestation 301 via a link180 and the basestation 301 communicates with the console 176 via a link122. The link 122 may be as described above. In an exampleimplementation, the link 180 may be a proprietary wireless linkoperating in an unlicensed frequency band. The headset 200 may be asdescribed below with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C. The basestation 301 maybe as described below with reference to FIGS. 3A-3B.

In operation, the headset 200 may be operable to receive game audiochannels and a chat audio channel during play of a particular game. Thegaming headset may be operable to monitor the game audio channels andthe chat audio channel in order to determine or detect when thepredefined words are being utilized on one or more audio channels of thegame audio channels and the chat audio channel. The predefined words maybe associated with particular sounds, which may be stored in a memorydevice, for example, as a data structure. Whenever the headset 200determines or detects that the predefined words are being utilized onany of the game audio channels and the chat audio channel, the headset200 may be operable to filter out or otherwise remove the predefinedwords from one or more corresponding audio channels that conveys thedetected predefined words so that the predefined words are not outputfrom the speakers of the headset 200.

FIG. 1C is a diagram of an exemplary gaming console and an associatednetwork of peripheral devices, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1C, there is shown isthe console 176, which is communicatively coupled to a plurality ofperipheral devices and a network 106. The example peripheral devicesshown include a monitor 108, a user interface device 102, a headset 200,an audio basestation 301, and a multi-purpose device 192.

The monitor 108 and the user interface device 102 are as describedabove. The headset 200 is as described below with reference to FIGS.2A-2C. The audio basestation is as described below with reference to,for example, FIGS. 3A-3B.

The multi-purpose device 192 may comprise, for example, a tabletcomputer, a smartphone, a laptop computer, or the like and that runs anoperating system such as Android, Linux, Windows, iOS, OSX, or the like.An example multi-purpose device is described below with reference toFIG. 4. Hardware (e.g., a network adaptor) and software (i.e., theoperating system and one or more applications loaded onto the device192) may configure the device 192 for operating as part of the GPN 190.For example, an application running on the device 192 may cause displayof a graphical user interface (GUI), which may enable a user to accessgaming-related data, commands, functions, parameter settings, and so on.The graphical user interface may enable a user to interact with theconsole 176 and the other devices of the GPN 190 to enhance the user'sgaming experience.

The peripheral devices 102, 108, 192, 200, 300 are in communication withone another via a plurality of wired and/or wireless links (representedvisually by the placement of the devices in the cloud of GPN 190). Eachof the peripheral devices in the gaming peripheral network (GPN) 190 maycommunicate with one or more others of the peripheral devices in the GPN190 in a single-hop or multi-hop fashion. For example, the headset 200may communicate with the basestation 301 in a single hop (e.g., over aproprietary RF link) and with the device 192 in a single hop (e.g., overa Bluetooth or Wi-Fi direct link), while the tablet may communicate withthe basestation 301 in two hops via the headset 200. As another example,the user interface device 102 may communicate with the headset 200 in asingle hop (e.g., over a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi direct link) and with thedevice 192 in a single hop (e.g., over a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi directlink), while the device 192 may communicate with the headset 200 in twohops via the user interface device 102. These example interconnectionsamong the peripheral devices of the GPN 190 are merely examples, anynumber and/or types of links and/or hops among the devices of the GPN190 is possible.

The GPN 190 may communicate with the console 176 via any one or more ofthe connections 114, 140, 122, and 120 described above. The GPN 190 maycommunicate with a network 106 via one or more links 194 each of whichmay be, for example, Wi-Fi, wired Ethernet, and/or the like.

A database 182 which stores gaming audio data is accessible via thenetwork 106. The gaming audio data may comprise, for example, signatures(or “acoustic fingerprint”) of particular audio clips (e.g., individualsounds or collections or sequences of sounds) that are part of the gameaudio of particular games, of particular levels/scenarios of particulargames, particular characters of particular games, etc. In an exampleimplementation, the database 182 may comprise a plurality of records183, where each record 183 comprises an audio clip (or signature of theclip) 184, a description of the clip 185 (e.g., the game it is from,when it occurs in the game, etc.), one or more gaming commands 186associated with the clip, one or more parameter settings 187 associatedwith the clip, and/or other data associated with the audio clip. Records183 of the database 182 may be downloadable to, or accessed in real-timeby, one of more devices of the GPN 190.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams that depict two views of an exampleembodiment of a game headset, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, there areshown two views of an example headset 200 that may present audio outputby a gaming console such as the console 176. The headset 200 comprises aheadband 202, a microphone boom 206 with microphone 204, ear cups 208 aand 208 b which surround speakers 216 a and 216 b, connector 210,connector 214, and user controls 212.

The connector 210 may be, for example, a 3.5 mm headphone socket forreceiving analog audio signals (e.g., receiving chat audio via an Xbox“talkback” cable).

The microphone 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to convert acoustic waves (e.g., thevoice of the person wearing the headset) to electric signals forprocessing by circuitry of the headset and/or for output to a device(e.g., console 176, basestation 301, a smartphone, and/or the like) thatis in communication with the headset.

The speakers 216 a and 216 b may comprise circuitry that may be operableto convert electrical signals to sound waves.

The user controls 212 may comprise dedicated and/or programmablebuttons, switches, sliders, wheels, etc. for performing variousfunctions. Example functions which the controls 212 may be configured toperform include: power the headset 200 on/off, mute/unmute themicrophone 204, control gain/volume of, and/or effects applied to, chataudio by the audio processing circuit of the headset 200, controlgain/volume of, and/or effects applied to, game audio by the audioprocessing circuit of the headset 200, enable/disable/initiate pairing(e.g., via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi direct, NFC, or the like) with anothercomputing device, and/or the like. Some of the user controls 212 mayadaptively and/or dynamically change during gameplay based on aparticular game that is being played. Some of the user controls 212 mayalso adaptively and/or dynamically change during gameplay based on aparticular player that is engage in the game play. The connector 214 maybe, for example, a USB, thunderbolt, Firewire or other type of port orinterface. The connector 214 may be used for downloading data to theheadset 200 from another computing device and/or uploading data from theheadset 200 to another computing device. Such data may include, forexample, parameter settings (described below). Additionally, oralternatively, the connector 214 may be used for communicating withanother computing device such as a smartphone, tablet compute, laptopcomputer, or the like.

FIG. 2C is a diagram that depicts a block diagram of the example headsetof FIGS. 2A and 2B, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments ofthe disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2C, there is shown a headset 200. Inaddition to the connector 210, user controls 212, connector 214,microphone 204, and speakers 216 a and 216 b already discussed, shownare a radio 220, a CPU 222, a storage device 224, a memory 226, and anaudio processing circuit 230.

The radio 220 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to communicate in accordance with one or morestandardized (such as, for example, the IEEE 802.11 family of standards,NFC, the Bluetooth family of standards, and/or the like) and/orproprietary wireless protocol(s) (e.g., a proprietary protocol forreceiving audio from an audio basestation such as the basestation 301).

The CPU 222 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to execute instructions forcontrolling/coordinating the overall operation of the headset 200. Suchinstructions may be part of an operating system or state machine of theheadset 200 and/or part of one or more software applications running onthe headset 200. In some implementations, the CPU 222 may be, forexample, a programmable interrupt controller, a state machine, or thelike.

The CPU 222 may also be operable to handle filtering or removal ofpredefined words, for example, profanity for the headset 200 based onanalysis of game and/or chat audio received from the console 176 duringgame play. In this regard, the CPU 222 may be operable to dynamicallyhandle the filtering or removal of the predefined words for the headset200 based on information that may be received from the audio processingcircuit 230 and/or information that may be stored in the storage device224 or an external storage device.

The storage device 224 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may comprise, for example, FLASH or othernonvolatile memory, which may be operable to store data comprisingoperating data, configuration data, settings, and so on, which may beused by the CPU 222 and/or the audio processing circuit 230. Such datamay include, for example, parameter settings that affect processing ofaudio signals in the headset 200 and parameter settings that affectfunctions performed by the user controls 212. For example, one or moreparameter settings may determine, at least in part, a gain of one ormore gain elements of the audio processing circuit 230. As anotherexample, one or more parameter settings may determine, at least in part,a frequency response of one or more filters that operate on audiosignals in the audio processing circuit 230. As another example, one ormore parameter settings may determine, at least in part, whether andwhich sound effects are added to audio signals in the audio processingcircuit 230 (e.g., which effects to add to microphone audio to morph theuser's voice). Example parameter settings which affect audio processingare described in the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/040,144 titled “Game headset with Programmable Audio” and publishedas US2012/0014553, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference. Particular parameter settings may be selected autonomouslyby the headset 200 in accordance with one or more algorithms, based onuser input (e.g., via controls 212), and/or based on input received viaone or more of the connectors 210 and 214.

The storage device 224 may also be operable to store audio informationresulting from analysis of the plurality of game audio channels and/orchat audio channel during game play. In one embodiment of thedisclosure, the headset 200 may be operable to download the audioinformation for a particular game from a sounds database in an externalstorage device and store the downloaded audio information in the storagedevice 224. The external storage device may be located at a remoteserver (e.g., database 182 in FIG. 1C) or may be an external memorydevice, for example. In this regard, the CPU 222 may be operable toconfigure the radio 220 to download the audio information for theparticular game. The audio information may comprise sounds thatcorrespond to the predefined words for the particular game. Uponsubsequent play of that particular game, the headset 200 does not needto download the audio information for that particular game from thesounds database but may instead acquire the audio information for thatparticular game from the storage 224. The CPU 222 may be operable toensure that any updates to the sounds database may be downloaded fromthe sounds database and saved in the storage device 224 to ensure thatthe audio information for the particular game is kept up-to-date.

In another embodiment of the disclosure, the CPU 222 may be operable toconfigure the audio processing circuit 230 to perform signal analysis onthe plurality of audio channels that are received via the connector 210and/or the radio 220. The CPU 222 may be enabled to control theoperation of the audio processing circuit 230 in order to store theresults of the audio analysis along with, for example, an identifier ofthe game in the storage device 224. The CPU 222 may be enabled tomonitor the plurality of game audio channels and/or the chat audiochannel that are received via the connector 210 and detect thecharacteristics of one or more sounds. Based on the detected sounds, theCPU 222 may be operable to determine when the detected sounds match oneor more predefined words. The CPU 222 may be operable to filter out orotherwise remove the one or more predefined words so that the predefinedwords are not output from the speakers 216 a and 216 b in the headset200.

In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, audio information for aparticular game may be stored in a lookup table (LUT) in the storagedevice 224. In this regard, the LUT may comprise an identity of thegame, audio information corresponding to a detected sound and predefinedwords that may be mapped to the detected sounds. In instances when asound is detected on a monitored channel, the CPU 222 may compare thedetected sound to the audio information that is stored in the storagedevice 224. If the comparison results in a match between the detectedsound and the stored audio information, the corresponding sound may befiltered from the game audio channel and/or the chat audio channel thatconveys the predefined word. In this regard, the predefined word that isdetected on the game audio channel and/or the chat audio channel is notoutput from the speakers 216 a and 216 b in the headset 200.Accordingly, the predefined word is not heard by the person wearing theheadset 200.

The memory 226 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may comprise volatile memory used by the CPU 222 and/or audioprocessing circuit 230 as program memory, for storing runtime data, andso on. In this regard, the memory 226 may comprise information and/ordata that may be utilized to control operation of the audio processingcircuit 230 to perform signal analysis on the plurality of receivedaudio channels comprising the game audio channels and/or the chat audiochannel. The signal analysis may be utilized to determine whether thecharacteristics of one or more sounds on the game audio channels and/orthe chat audio channel matches predefined words that are stored in thememory 226.

The audio processing circuit 230 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to perform audio processingfunctions such as volume/gain control, compression, decompression,encoding, decoding, introduction of audio effects (e.g., echo, phasing,virtual surround effect, etc.), and/or the like. As described above, theprocessing performed by the audio processing circuit 230 may bedetermined, at least in part, by which parameter settings have beenselected. The processing performed by the audio processing circuit 230may also be determined based on default settings, player preference,and/or by adaptive and/or dynamic changes to the game play environment.The processing may be performed on game, chat, and/or microphone audiothat is subsequently output to speaker 216 a and 216 b. Additionally, oralternatively, the processing may be performed on chat audio that issubsequently output to the connector 210 and/or radio 220.

The audio processing circuit 230 may be operable to perform signalanalysis on received audio signals that are conveyed by a plurality ofgame audio channels and the chat audio channel. In this regard, theaudio processing circuit 230 may be operable to analyze the audio oneach of the plurality of received game audio channels and/or chat audiochannel in order to detect the characteristics of sounds correspondingto the audio signals. In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, theaudio processing circuit 230 may be operable to analyze the audio oneach of the plurality of received game audio channels and/or chat audiochannel in order to detect a unique signature that may be associatedwith a certain sound that may be mapped to a predefined word. Forexample, the certain sound may be mapped to a profane or curse word.

Based on the signal analysis by the audio processing circuit 230, theCPU 222 may determine that a sound detected on one of the game audiochannels and chat audio channel matches the certain sound for apredefined word. For example, the CPU 222 may compare the detected sound(or a signature or “acoustic fingerprint” of the detected sound) to thataudio information that is stored in the storage device 224 (e.g.,signatures or acoustic fingerprints of known sounds stored in thestorage device 224). If the comparison results in a match between thedetected sound and the stored audio information associated with one ormore predefined words, the CPU 222 may filter out or mute the game audiochannel and/or chat audio channel that conveys the predefined words sothat the predefined words is not output from the speakers 216 a and 216b in the headset 200.

In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the audio processingcircuit 230 may be operable to monitor the game audio and/or chat audioin order to detect sounds in the game audio and/or chat audio thatcorresponds to certain sounds that are associated with the predefinedwords. The CPU 222 may be operable to match the sounds that are detectedin the game audio and/or chat audio with sounds that are stored in thestorage 324, which are representative of the predefined words. Ininstances when the CPU 222 determines that a sound that is detected inthe game audio and/or chat audio matches a predefined word, the CPU 222may be operable to configure the audio processing circuit 230 to filterout the sound that corresponds to the predefined word in the game audioand/or chat audio. In this regard, the speakers 216 a and 216 b in theheadset 200 does not output the sound that corresponds to the predefinedword and the wearer of the headset 200 does not hear the predefinedword.

FIG. 3A is a diagram that depicts two views of an example embodiment ofan audio basestation, in accordance with various exemplary embodimentsof the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 3A, there is shown an exemplaryembodiment of an audio basestation 301. The basestation 301 comprisesstatus indicators 302, user controls 310, power port 313, and audioconnectors 314, 316, 318, and 320.

The audio connectors 314 and 316 may comprise digital audio in anddigital audio out (e.g., S/PDIF) connectors, respectively. The audioconnectors 318 and 320 may comprise a left “line in” and a right “linein” connector, respectively. The controls 310 may comprise, for example,a power button, a button for enabling/disabling virtual surround sound,a button for adjusting the perceived angles of the speakers when thevirtual surround sound is enabled, and a dial for controlling avolume/gain of the audio received via the “line in” connectors 318 and320. The status indicators 302 may indicate, for example, whether theaudio basestation 301 is powered on, whether audio data is beingreceived by the basestation 301 via connectors 314, and/or what type ofaudio data (e.g., Dolby Digital) is being received by the basestation301.

FIG. 3B is a diagram that depicts a block diagram of the audiobasestation 301, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure. Referring to FIG. 3B, there is shown an exemplary embodimentof an audio basestation 301. In addition to the user controls 310,indicators 302, and connectors 314, 316, 318, and 320 described above,the block diagram additionally shows a CPU 322, a storage device 324, amemory 326, a radio 319, an audio processing circuit 330, and a radio332.

The radio 319 comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to communicate in accordance with one or morestandardized (such as the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, the Bluetoothfamily of standards, NFC, and/or the like) and/or proprietary (e.g.,proprietary protocol for receiving audio protocols for receiving audiofrom a console such as the console 176) wireless protocols.

The radio 332 comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to communicate in accordance with one or morestandardized (such as, for example, the IEEE 802.11 family of standards,the Bluetooth family of standards, and/or the like) and/or proprietarywireless protocol(s) (e.g., a proprietary protocol for transmittingaudio to the headphones 200).

The CPU 322 comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or codethat may be operable to execute instructions forcontrolling/coordinating the overall operation of the audio basestation301. Such instructions may be part of an operating system or statemachine of the audio basestation 301 and/or part of one or more softwareapplications running on the audio basestation 301. In someimplementations, the CPU 322 may be, for example, a programmableinterrupt controller, a state machine, or the like.

The storage 324 may comprise, for example, FLASH or other nonvolatilememory for storing data which may be used by the CPU 322 and/or theaudio processing circuit 330. Such data may include, for example,parameter settings that affect processing of audio signals in thebasestation 301. For example, one or more parameter settings maydetermine, at least in part, a gain of one or more gain elements of theaudio processing circuit 330. As another example, one or more parametersettings may determine, at least in part, a frequency response of one ormore filters that operate on audio signals in the audio processingcircuit 330. As another example, one or more parameter settings maydetermine, at least in part, whether and which sound effects are addedto audio signals in the audio processing circuit 330 (e.g., whicheffects to add to microphone audio to morph the user's voice). Exampleparameter settings which affect audio processing are described in theco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/040,144 titled “Gameheadset with Programmable Audio” and published as US2012/0014553, theentirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Particularparameter settings may be selected autonomously by the basestation 301in accordance with one or more algorithms, based on user input (e.g.,via controls 310), and/or based on input received via one or more of theconnectors 314, 316, 318, and 320.

The memory 326 may comprise volatile memory used by the CPU 322 and/oraudio processing circuit 330 as program memory, for storing runtimedata, etc.

The audio processing circuit 330 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to perform audio processingfunctions such as volume/gain control, compression, decompression,encoding, decoding, introduction of audio effects (e.g., echo, phasing,virtual surround effect, etc.), and/or the like. As described above, theprocessing performed by the audio processing circuit 330 may bedetermined, at least in part, by which parameter settings have beenselected. The processing may be performed on game and/or chat audiosignals that are subsequently output to a device (e.g., headset 200) incommunication with the basestation 301. Additionally, or alternatively,the processing may be performed on a microphone audio signal that issubsequently output to a device (e.g., console 176) in communicationwith the basestation 301.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multi-purpose device 192, inaccordance with various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. Theexample multi-purpose device 192 comprises an application processor 402,memory subsystem 404, a cellular/GPS networking subsystem 406, sensors408, power management subsystem 410, LAN subsystem 412, bus adaptor 414,user interface subsystem 416, and audio processor 418.

The application processor 402 comprises suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to execute instructions forcontrolling/coordinating the overall operation of the multi-purposedevice 192 as well as graphics processing functions of the multi-purposedevice 1922. Such instructions may be part of an operating system of theconsole and/or part of one or more software applications running on theconsole.

The memory subsystem 404 comprises volatile memory for storing runtimedata, nonvolatile memory for mass storage and long-term storage, and/ora memory controller which controls reads/writes to memory.

The LAN subsystem 412 comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to perform baseband processing andanalog/RF processing for transmission and reception of wired, optical,and/or wireless signals (e.g., in accordance with Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 andvariants thereof 802.11 e.g., a, b, g, n, ac, q, Wi-Fi Direct, etc),Bluetooth, Ethernet, and/or other standards).

The sensors 408 comprise, for example, a camera, a gyroscope, anaccelerometer, a biometric sensor, and/or the like.

The power management subsystem 410 comprises suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to manage distribution ofpower among the various components of the multi-purpose device 192.

The cellular/GPS networking subsystem 406 comprises suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to performbaseband processing and analog/RF processing for transmission andreception of cellular and GPS signals.

The bus adaptor 414 comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable for interfacing one or more internaldata busses of the multi-purpose device with an external bus (e.g., aUniversal Serial Bus) for transferring data to/from the multi-purposedevice via a wired connection.

The user interface subsystem 416 comprises suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control and relay signalsto/from a touchscreen, hard buttons, and/or other input devices of themulti-purpose device 192.

The audio processor 418 comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to process (e.g., digital-to-analogconversion, analog-to-digital conversion, compression, decompression,encryption, decryption, resampling, etc.) audio signals. The audioprocessor 418 may be operable to receive and/or output signals via aconnector such as a 3.5 mm stereo and microphone connector.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary subsystem that maybe utilized for filtering out predefined words during game play, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 5,there is shown a subsystem 500 comprising a game console 502, a headset504, and an external storage device 506. The headset 504 may comprise anaudio processor 504 a, an internal storage device 504 b, speakers 504 dand a CPU 522. The internal storage device 504 b may comprise a soundsdatabase 504 c. The external storage device 506 may comprise a soundsdatabase 506 a. FIG. 5 also shows a second screen communication device520.

The game console 502 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to present a game to, and also enablegame play interaction between, one or more local players and/or one ormore remote players. The game console 502 may be substantially similarto the game console 176, for example, which is shown and described withrespect to FIG. 1A. The game console 502 may be operable to generateoutput video signals for a game over a video channel and outputcorresponding audio signals for the game over one or more of a pluralityof audio channels. Exemplary audio channels may comprise a center (CTR)channel, a front right (FR) channel, a front left (FL) channel, a rearright (RR) channel, a rear left (RL) channel, a side right (SR) channel,and a side left (SL) channel. The game console 502 may also enable gamechat over a chat audio channel.

The headset 504 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to receive the plurality of audiochannels of game audio and/or chat audio. The headset 504 may besubstantially similar to the headset 200, for example, which is shownand described with respect to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C. The headset 504 maybe operable to monitor the audio channels in order to detectcharacteristics of the sounds on the monitored audio channels. Ininstances where the characteristics of a particular sound that isdetected on the monitored audio channels matches the sound associatedwith a predefined word, the headset 504 may be muted or other preventedfrom outputting the predefined word.

The speakers 504 d may be substantially similar to the speakers 216 aand 216 b, for example, which are shown and described with respect toFIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C.

The external storage device 506 may comprise one or more suitabledevices having suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code thatmay be operable to store audio information for a game. The audioinformation may be stored in, for example, the sounds database 506 a.The audio information may comprise an audio signature or “acousticfingerprint” of a predefined word.

The audio processor 504 a may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to monitor the plurality ofaudio channels of the game and/or chat audio. The audio processor 504 amay be substantially similar to the audio processing circuit 230, whichis shown and described with respect to FIG. 1A. The audio processor 504a may be operable to utilize signal analysis to detect thecharacteristics of sounds in the monitored plurality of audio channels.For example, the audio processor may be operable to detect sounds basedon an audio signature or “acoustic fingerprint” of a predefined word.

The internal storage device 504 b may comprise one or more suitabledevices that may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to store audio information for a game. Theaudio information may comprise an audio signature or “acousticfingerprint” of a predefined word.

The internal storage device 504 b may be substantially similar to thestorage device 224, for example, which is shown and described withrespect to FIG. 2C. The audio information may be stored in, for example,the sounds database 504 c. Audio information for a particular game maybe downloaded from the sounds database 506 a, which is in the externalstorage device 506, by the headset 504 via, for example, a wirelessconnection. The downloaded audio information may be stored in the soundsdatabase 504 c, which is in the internal storage device 504 b. The audioinformation may be retrieved from the internal storage device 504 b whena game is initiated.

The CPU 522 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to execute instructions for controlling,managing and/or coordinating the overall operation of the headset 504.In this regard, the CPU 222 may be operable to control, manage andcoordinate operation of the components in the headset 504, whichcomprises the audio processor 504 a, the internal storage device 504 b,and the sounds database 504 c. The CPU 522 may also be operable tocoordinate and manage operations between the headset 504, the gameconsole 502, and the external storage device 506. The CPU 522 may alsobe operable to coordinate and manage operations for the sounds database504 c and the sounds database 506 a. The CPU 522 may be substantiallysimilar to the CPU 222, which is shown and described with respect to,for example, FIG. 2C.

The second screen communication device 520 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receivewarning messages from the headset 504. For example, when the number ofoccurrences of the predefined words occur within a particular timeperiod and is greater than a threshold value, the second screencommunication device 520 may be operable to receive an alert and/ormessage that may be communicated from the headset 504.

In operation, the audio processing circuit 504 a may be operable tomonitor the plurality of received game audio channels and/or a game chatchannel from the game console 502. In this regard, the audio processingcircuit 504 a may be operable to perform signal analysis on each of theplurality of received game audio channels and/or the chat audio channelto detect the characteristics of sounds carried in one or more of thegame audio channels and/or the chat audio channel. Based on the signalanalysis by the audio processing circuit 504 a, the CPU 522 may beoperable to compare the sounds that are detected in one or more of thegame audio channels and/or the chat audio channel. If the CPU 522determines that a particular detected sound matches a sound for apredefined word that is stored in the sounds database 504 c, the CPU 522may instruct the audio processing circuit 504 a to filter out thepredefined word from the corresponding game audio channels and/or thechat audio channel. Accordingly, the predefined word is not output fromthe speakers 504 d of the headset 504. In accordance with variousembodiments of the disclosure, the audio processing circuit 504 a and/orthe CPU 522 in the headset 504 may be operable to filter out a detectedpredefined word by replacing the sound for the detected predefined wordin the game audio channel and/or chat audio channel with otherpredefined audio such as one or more tones. The filtering may replacethe detected occurrence of the predefined words with predefined audio sothat the detected occurrence of the predefined words is not output viaspeakers of the headset 504. For example, the audio processing circuit504 a and/or the CPU 522 in the headset 504 may be operable to detectprofanity such as a curse word and filter out the curse word so that thecurse word is not output from the speakers 504 d in the headset 504.

In accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure, the audioprocessing circuit 504 a and/or the CPU 522 in the headset 504 may beoperable to determine which of the plurality of game audio channelsand/or chat audio channel conveys the detected predefined word. Theaudio processing circuit 504 a in the headset 504 may be operable tomute the game audio channel and/or the chat audio channel that conveysthe detected predefined word. In some embodiments of the disclosure,when the detected predefined word is on the chat audio, the audioprocessing circuit 504 a in the headset 504 may be operable to mute thechat audio while continuing to output the game audio. Similarly, whenthe detected predefined word is on a game audio channel, the audioprocessing circuit 504 a in the headset 504 may be operable to mute thatgame audio channel while continuing to output other game audio channelsand/or the chat audio channel. Accordingly, the predefined word is notoutput from the speakers 504 d of the headset 504.

The CPU 522 may also be operable to determine the number of times thatthe one or more predefined words occur in the game audio channels and/orchat audio channel during a particular time period. In some embodimentsof the disclosure, in instances when the determined number ofoccurrences of the predefined words occur within a particular timeperiod rises above a threshold value, the headset 504 may be operable toperform one or more actions. Exemplary actions that may be performed maycomprise activating a parental alert and/or an audio alert, playing awarning message via speakers of the headset 504, powering down theheadset 504, and/or, communicating an alert from the headset 504 to thesecond screen communication device 520.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary steps for filtering outpredefined words during game play, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown aflow chart 600 comprising a plurality of exemplary steps, namely, 602through 610. In step 602, the headset 504 may be operable to monitor oneor more audio channels of game and/or chat audio. In step 604, theheadset 504 may be operable to perform signal analysis on the monitoredaudio channels. In step 606, the headset 504 may be operable todetermine characteristics of the detected sounds on the one or moreaudio channels based on the signal analysis. In step 608, the headset504 may be operable to determine whether the characteristics of detectedsound match characteristics of sounds for a predefined word. In step610, if the characteristics of the detected sound match characteristicsof the sounds for a predefined word, then the headset filters out thedetected sound so that the detected sound is not output from thespeakers 504 d in the headset 504.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary steps for filtering outpredefined words during game play, in accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown aflow chart 700 comprising a plurality of exemplary steps, namely, 702through 706. In step 702, the audio processor 504 a detects a sound inthe game audio and/or chat audio with specific characteristics for agame and notifies the CPU 522. In step 704, the CPU 522 accesses thesounds database 504 c and compares the characteristics of the detectedsound with characteristics of sound corresponding to a predefined word.In step 706, the CPU 522 may configure the audio processor 504 a tofilter out or replace the detected sound so that the detected sound isnot output from the speakers 504 d of the headset 504.

FIG. 8 depicts example entries of a data structure used by a headset forprofanity filtering. The data structure 800 may be, for example, part ofdatabase 504 c and/or 504 a. Each entry of the data structure 800corresponds to a predefined word for which the headset is to monitor ingame, chat, and/or microphone audio. Each entry comprises, for example,a word field 802, an audio signature field 804, a response field 806,and a replacement audio field 808. In an example implementation, thedata structure 800 may be customized for a particular game and/or aparticular player. The customization may comprise, for example, anadministrator using a graphical user interface (e.g., running on adevice 520 that is coupled to the headset 500) to populate the fields ofthe data structure 800. For example, a parent may set up a first datastructure for his/her youngest child and a second data structure forhis/her oldest child. The two data structures may be different in thewords or phrases for which there are entries and/or where the two datastructures have common words or phrases, the entries may differ in thecorresponding signatures, responses, and/or replacement audio.

The word field 802 may store the text of the i^(th) word or phrase. Thefield 804 may store the audio signature for which the audio may bemonitored to detect an occurrence of the i^(th) word or phrase. Theaudio signature 804 _(i) may be selected based on a player associatedwith the data structure and/or a game associated with the data structure800 to account for the fact that the same word or phrase may have adifferent signature depending on a source of the word or phrase (e.g.,whether the local player spoke it, whether a remote player spoke it,whether it was part of the game audio, etc.). The response field 806_(i) may store instructions to be executed upon detecting an occurrenceof the i^(th) word or phrase in the audio. For example, the responsefield 806 _(i) may instruct the headset to replace the audiocorresponding to the detected word in 802 _(i) with the replacementaudio 808 _(i). The replacement audio 808 _(i) may be selected based ona player associated with the data structure and/or a game associatedwith the data structure 800 such that the replacement audio 808 _(i) hassimilar tone, pitch, and/or intensity as the audio it is replacing. Forexample, where audio signature 804 _(i) corresponds to a clip of profanegame audio, the replacement audio 808 _(i) may be a previously-recordednon-profane clip from the same game audio. As another example, whereaudio signature 804 _(i) corresponds to a particular user speaking aprofanity, the replacement audio 808 _(i) may be a previously-recordednon-profane clip from the same user.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, a gamingheadset such as the headset 200 may be operable to receive a pluralityof audio channels during play of a particular game. The plurality ofaudio channels may comprise game audio channels and a chat audiochannel. The headset 200 may be operable to monitor the receivedplurality of audio channels for one or more predefined words. Inresponse to detecting an occurrence of one or more of the predefinedwords, the headset 200 may be operable to filter out at least a portionof the detected one or more of the predefined words from the receivedplurality of audio channels. The predefined words may be associated withone or more particular sounds in a data structure. During themonitoring, the headset 200 may be operable to compare sounds on thereceived plurality of audio channels with the one or more particularsounds in the data structure. During the filtering, the headset 200 maybe operable to mute one or more of the plurality of audio channels sothat the detected occurrence of the one or more of the predefined wordsis not output via speakers of the gaming headset. The headset 200 may beoperable to mute the chat audio channel while continuing to output thegame audio channel via the speakers of the gaming headset.

During the filtering, the headset 200 may be operable to replace thedetected occurrence of the one or more predefined words with predefinedaudio so that the detected occurrence of the one or more predefinedwords is not output via speakers of the gaming headset. The headset 200may be operable to determine a number of occurrences of the one or morepredefined words in the received plurality of audio channels during aparticular time period. When the determined number of occurrences of theone or more predefined words during the particular time period risesabove a threshold value, the headset 200 may be operable to activate aparental alert, activate an audio alert, play a warning message viaspeakers of the gaming headset, power down the gaming headset and/orcommunicate an alert from the headset to a second screen communicationdevice. The headset 200 may be operable to determine a source of thedetected occurrence of the predefined words. When the source of thedetected occurrence of the predefined word is the chat audio channel,the headset 200 is operable to mute the chat audio channel whilecontinuing to output the game audio channel via the speakers of thegaming headset. The headset 200 may be operable to perform signalanalysis on the plurality of audio channels during the play of theparticular game for the detecting of the occurrence of the predefinedwords.

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory may comprise afirst “circuit” when executing a first one or more lines of code and maycomprise a second “circuit” when executing a second one or more lines ofcode. As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items inthe list joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means anyelement of the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. As another example,“x, y, and/or z” means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y),(z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. As utilized herein, the terms“e.g.,” and “for example” set off lists of one or more non-limitingexamples, instances, or illustrations. As utilized herein, circuitry is“operable” to perform a function whenever the circuitry comprises thenecessary hardware and code (if any is necessary) to perform thefunction, regardless of whether performance of the function is disabled,or not enabled, by some user-configurable setting.

Throughout this disclosure, the use of the terms dynamically and/oradaptively with respect to an operation means that, for example,parameters for, configurations for and/or execution of the operation maybe configured or reconfigured during run-time (e.g., in, or near,real-time) based on newly received or updated information or data. Forexample, an operation within a transmitter and/or a receiver may beconfigured or reconfigured based on, for example, current, recentlyreceived and/or updated signals, information and/or data.

The present method and/or system may be realized in hardware, software,or a combination of hardware and software. The present methods and/orsystems may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputing system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computing systems. Any kind ofcomputing system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computing system with a program orother code that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computingsystem such that it carries out the methods described herein. Anothertypical implementation may comprise an application specific integratedcircuit or chip. Some implementations may comprise a non-transitorymachine-readable (e.g., computer readable) medium (e.g., FLASH drive,optical disk, magnetic storage disk, or the like) having stored thereonone or more lines of code executable by a machine, thereby causing themachine to perform processes as described herein.

While the present method and/or system has been described with referenceto certain implementations, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes may be made and equivalents may besubstituted without departing from the scope of the present methodand/or system. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the presentdisclosure without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intendedthat the present method and/or system not be limited to the particularimplementations disclosed, but that the present method and/or systemwill include all implementations falling within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: in a gaming headset thatreceives a plurality of audio channels during play of a particular game,wherein said plurality of audio channels comprises game audio channelsand a chat audio channel: monitoring said received plurality of audiochannels for one or more predefined words; and in response to detectingan occurrence of one of said predefined words, filtering out at least aportion of said detected one of said predefined words from said receivedplurality of audio channels.
 2. The method according to claim 1, whereinsaid predefined words are associated with one or more particular soundsin a data structure.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein saidmonitoring comprises comparing sounds on said received plurality ofaudio channels with said one or more particular sounds in said datastructure.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said filteringcomprises muting one or more of said plurality of audio channels so thatsaid detected occurrence of said one of said predefined words is notoutput via speakers of said gaming headset.
 5. The method according toclaim 4, comprising muting said chat audio channel while continuing tooutput said game audio channel via said speakers of said gaming headset.6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said filtering comprisesreplacing said detected occurrence of said one or more predefined wordswith predefined audio so that said detected occurrence of said one ormore predefined words is not output via speakers of said gaming headset.7. The method according to claim 1, comprising determining a number ofoccurrences of said one or more predefined words in said receivedplurality of audio channels during a particular time period.
 8. Themethod according to claim 6, comprising upon said determined number ofoccurrences of said one or more predefined words during said particulartime period rising above a threshold value, performing one or more of:activating a parental alert; activating an audio alert; playing awarning message via speakers of said gaming headset; powering down saidgaming headset; and/or communicating an alert from said headset to asecond screen communication device.
 9. The method according to claim 1,comprising: determining a source of said detected occurrence of saidpredefined words; and if said source of said detected occurrence of saidpredefined words is said chat audio channel, muting said chat audiochannel while continuing to output said game audio channel via saidspeakers of said gaming headset.
 10. The method according to claim 1,wherein said monitoring comprises performing signal analysis on saidplurality of audio channels during said play of said particular game forsaid detecting of said occurrence of said predefined words.
 11. Asystem, comprising: a gaming headset that receives a plurality of audiochannels during play of a particular game, wherein said plurality ofaudio channels comprises game audio channels and a chat audio channel,said gaming headset is operable to: monitor said received plurality ofaudio channels for one or more predefined words; and in response todetecting an occurrence of one of said predefined words, filter out atleast a portion of said detected one of said predefined words from saidreceived plurality of audio channels.
 12. The system according to claim11, wherein said predefined words are associated with one or moreparticular sounds in a data structure.
 13. The system according to claim12, wherein said monitoring: compares sounds on said received pluralityof audio channels with said one or more particular sounds in said datastructure; and performs signal analysis on said plurality of audiochannels during said play of said particular game for said detecting ofsaid occurrence of said predefined words.
 14. The system according toclaim 11, wherein said filtering mutes one or more of said plurality ofaudio channels so that said detected occurrence of said one of saidpredefined words is not output via speakers of said gaming headset. 15.The system according to claim 14, wherein said gaming headset isoperable to mute said chat audio channel while continuing to output saidgame audio channel via said speakers of said gaming headset.
 16. Thesystem according to claim 11, wherein said filtering replaces saiddetected occurrence of said one or more predefined words with predefinedaudio so that said detected occurrence of said one or more predefinedwords is not output via speakers of said gaming headset.
 17. The systemaccording to claim 11, wherein said gaming headset is operable todetermine a number of occurrences of said one or more predefined wordsin said received plurality of audio channels during a particular timeperiod.
 18. The system according to claim 16, wherein upon saiddetermined number of occurrences of said one or more predefined wordsduring said particular time period rising above a threshold value, saidgaming headset is operable to perform one or more of: activate aparental alert; activate an audio alert; play a warning message viaspeakers of said gaming headset; power down said gaming headset; and/orcommunicate an alert from said headset to a second screen communicationdevice.
 19. The system according to claim 11, wherein said gamingheadset is operable to: determine a source of said detected occurrenceof said predefined words; and if said source of said detected occurrenceof said predefined words is said chat audio channel, mute said chataudio channel while continuing to output said game audio channel viasaid speakers of said gaming headset.
 20. A non-transitory computerreadable medium having stored thereon, a computer program having atleast one code section that is executable by a machine for causing themachine to perform steps comprising: in a gaming headset that receives aplurality of audio channels during play of a particular game, whereinsaid plurality of audio channels comprises game audio channels and achat audio channel: monitoring said received plurality of audio channelsfor one or more predefined words; and in response to detecting anoccurrence of one of said predefined words, filtering out at least aportion of said detected one of said predefined words from said receivedplurality of audio channels.